This blog is open to anyone who wants to post valid comments on issues that pertain to the ongoing injustice associated with the Israeli-Palestinian issue, other foreign policy issues in the Middle East like Iraq, Iran, and Syria, or issues concerning US governance, propaganda and its function in a so-called democratic nation, corruption of the US system of representation, and any other issue that explains the ongoing decline of the USA.

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Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Carter's book

I just finished Carter's book, "Palestine : Peace not Apartheid", and thought I would offer some comments on the book, and the various reactions to the book from the mainstream media.

First of all, before I even started the book, I was following very closely the various media attacks on Carter's main thesis, that some form of Apartheid was being practiced in the Occupied Territories, and that the Palestinians were the victims of some type of systematic repression. Wolf Blitzer, a former representative of AIPAC, interviewed Kenneth Stein et al, who resigned in protest from the Carter Center, in his situation room. The burning question of the discussion was whether or not Jimmy Carter went over to the "dark side" so to speak, because the guests argued, valid or not, that Carter was a supporter of terrorism, a borderline anti-semite, and was using his good name and impeccable background to slander the always-the-victim state of Israel.

I also watched a great debate between Gil Troy of McGill University and Norman Finkelstein of Depaul University on "Democracy NOW". I sent Gil Troy an email concerning issues that were raised during the debate that he never adequately answered in my mind. He responded to my comments and questions in a very respectful way. In Troy's defense, his comments have not been as nearly as heated on the book as some other vocal pro-Israel ideologues, such as the plagiarist Dershowitz, or Kenneth Stein, or Abe Foxman of the ADL, or Dennis Ross, or any available NEOCON from any NEOCON hotbed who have spewed venom concerning the book's contents. I knew from reading these various commentaries about the book that Carter was probably right on. My experience with reading on the I-P issue is that the more substantive arguments are used to criticize Israeli behavior, the more the person making the arguments gets attacked by the mainstream media, pro-Israel zealots, NEOCONS, etc. They don't bother attacking David Duke, they go after people like Chomsky and Finkelstein and Michael Lerner, and now Jimmy Carter.

About the book itself : Carter himself acknowledged that the Apartheid system in the OT was not necessarily the same as the Apartheid system practiced in South Africa, where race was the motivating factor. The motivating factor in the Israeli case is land acquisition, and the creation of an atmosphere within the OT that might force out the humiliated Palestinians voluntarily, which is an Israeli goal. Moreover, the inflammatory use of "apartheid" is quite commonplace in discussions within Israel concerning the status of the Palestinians in the OT. The term is used frequently in reports from groups like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, B'tSelem, etc. SO if the term is used within Israel, and within reputable mainstream human rights groups, why the dramatic controversy when an ex-President who negotiated the only lasting peace between Israel and ANY Arab neighbor uses the term? Makes no sense; the controversy is quite contrived.

I was impressed with the level of detail with which Carter explained the evolution of the peace process. Carter, in general, did not draw conclusions so much as he did reveal some of the intimate details of Camp David in 1978, Oslo in 1993, Camp David under Clinton, and Taba, etc. There were a few factual errors. His thesis was not affected by these details. One of the main arguments used against the book, which in my mind would be a valid argument, is that Carter's criticism is mostly reserved for Israel, and that he does not address the many actions on the side of the Palestinians that also warrant criticism. I do not dispute this, but would add that there are enough outlets which do this job already. Too much blame is placed on the Palestinians obviously, and not enough on the Israelis , and so maybe Carter wanted a counter-balance. He did issue some crucial qualifiers saying that suicide attacks within Israel are reprehensible. No one argues that point.

Some conclusions from me would be : Begin signed Camp David in 1978. These accords effectively removed Egypt from the Arab-Israeli conflict. Sadat was assassinated for having initiated them (earlier in the 70's when he addressed the Knesset paving the road for furture peace). The key provision of the accords (for the Palestinians) was the Israel would retreat to the pre-June 1967 borders and would dismantle settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza strip, in line with UN 242. Has this been accomplished? Sadly, 29 years later, the answer is still no. Geroge HW Bush froze Israeli aid because of the ongoing settlement activity, in violation of UN 242 and Israel's commitment to the Camp David accords. The effect was that the settlement activity stopped immediately. Why doesn't the good son use the same tool, which he would if he really believed in the "Roadmap" ?

Apart from other peace discussions, I think this fact stands out more, because this is an agreement that Israel signed and has not fulfilled. It is a slap to the face of Carter and the US. Other conclusions that are obvious from the book: As the book is virtually conclusion free, just Carter providing some background of the ongoing suffering of the Palestinians, his personal history with working on this issue for decades, the reader is allowed to make up their own minds. If one juxtaposes Carter's book (and Amnesty's yearly reports, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH yearly reports, B'tSelem's yearly reports) on the one hand, and the collective outputs from the ADL, AIPAC, mainstream US media, NEOCON thinktanks on the other, and ask yourself, who is telling the truth and who is distorting the factual record, I think there can only be one answer.

I will close this by saying yesterday I read about 50 customer reviews on Amazon. The vast majority were positive. And despite the controversy, or because of it, the sales of the book keep climbing. I saw it was at #2 on the non-fiction hardback NYT bestseller list the other day. This is all positive news. Let the Zionists keep clamoring about anti-semitism, and let Americans keep reading books like Carter's, for if they do, there will be a shift in foreign policy one day, one that contains some modicum of justice for the Palestinian people.